A new report by Kaladan Press gives a detailed account of theBurma Army’s August 2017 “clearance operations” in the large fishing village ofAlethankyaw in southern Maungdaw, uncovering new evidence that the operationsagainst the Rohingya were carefully pre-planned, and not a response to“terrorist attacks” on August 25, as claimed by the Burmese government.

“The Killing Fields of Alethankyaw,” based on eyewitness testimony,
exposes systematic preparation and execution of the operations by government
forces, using military infrastructure built up along the western edge of the
Mayu mountain range since 2012.

Fishing boats were seized, Rakhine villagers evacuated, and
hundreds of troops moved into the four security camps in Alethankyaw, ready to
open fire early on August 25, starting a brutal nine-day attack that left
several hundred Rohingya civilians dead, and the village of over 11,000 people
empty and in ashes.

No eyewitnesses saw any sign of the thousand “extremist
terrorists” alleged by the government to have swarmed up from the beach to
attack an Alethankyaw police post early on August 25, and say this was
impossible given the tight security – including naval patrols and searchlights over
the flat, open terrain, where no one could have hidden.

“Our findings debunk the military’s claims that they were responding
to “terrorist attacks.” Their operations
were pre-planned from start to finish, with the clear aim of driving out the
Rohingya,” said Tin Soe, executive editor of Kaladan Press.

The report contains detailed testimony of killing, rape, and
looting by government troops, and includes maps showing the security build-up
in and around the village, the direction of attacks on August 25, and sites
where bodies were disposed of, including under the telecommunication tower
newly built by Norwegian-owned Telenor – from which snipers gunned down fleeing
men, women, and children.

The report is the first to expose the deadly use of the
Telenor premises by government troops during the August 2017 operations.

“We hope our report will spur foreign investors such as
Telenor to take a cold, hard look at their role in aiding the Rohingya
genocide,” said Tin Soe.

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2018/11/22/kpn-press-release-new-report-debunks-terrorist-attack-pretext-for-burma-army-operations-against-rohingya/feed/0kaladanpressThe Killing Fields of Alethankyawhttps://kaladanpress.com/2018/11/22/the-killing-fields-of-alethankyaw/
https://kaladanpress.com/2018/11/22/the-killing-fields-of-alethankyaw/#respondThu, 22 Nov 2018 07:08:49 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3626The centuries-old fishing community of Alethankyaw in southern Maungdaw is one of hundreds of Rohingya villages attacked and razed by Burmese government security forces during their brutal “clearance operations” that began in August 2017 and which drove over 720,000 refugees into Bangladesh.

The government maintains that the operations were in response to coordinated “terrorist” attacks on August 25
on thirty police posts, including in Alethankyaw, and that villagers burned their own houses and fled. But this report, based on in-depth interviews with thirty refugees from Alethankyaw, including fishermen, farmers, shopkeepers, housewives and teachers, tells a very different story: the nine-day assault by the Burma Army on their village was carefully pre-planned and implemented, and the 1,000-strong “terrorist” attack on Alethankyaw as described by the government did not and could not have happened.

The report “The Killing Fields of Alethankyaw,” based on eyewitness testimony, exposes systematic preparation and execution of the operations by government forces, using military infrastructure built up along the western edge of the Mayu mountain range since 2012 and Kaladan Press gives a detailed account of the Burma Army’s August 2017 “clearance operations” in the large fishing village of Alethankyaw in southern Maungdaw, uncovering new evidence that the operations against the Rohingya were carefully pre-planned, and not a response to “terrorist attacks” on August 25, as claimed by the Burmese government.

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2018/11/22/the-killing-fields-of-alethankyaw/feed/0kaladanpressRohingya villagers’ testimony sheds new light on Amnesty International’s latest reporthttps://kaladanpress.com/2018/05/24/rohingya-villagers-testimony-sheds-new-light-on-amnesty-internationals-latest-report/
https://kaladanpress.com/2018/05/24/rohingya-villagers-testimony-sheds-new-light-on-amnesty-internationals-latest-report/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 17:00:48 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3618Testimony of Rohingya villagers from Kha Maung Seik village tract, northern Maungdaw, implicates the Burmese security forces as the instigators of attacks on civilians in their area on August 25, 2017, offering a very different version of events than that given by Amnesty International in their new May 22nd report.AI’s report backs up the Burmese military’s well-publicized narrative, that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked and massacred Hindu villagers in Kha Maung Seik on August 25. AI states: “ARSA’s appalling attacks were followed up by the Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya people as a whole.”

AI claims that ARSA fighters started attacking Hindu residents of Kha Maung Seik at 8 am on August 25, killing some and holding others captive in a house in the area for two nights.

Refugees interviewed by Kaladan Press say the attack that morning was actually launched by the Burmese security forces, causing most villagers, including Hindu, to flee in terror towards the border that same day.

Abdul Salam, a 35 year old driver from Kha Maung Seik, said he was woken by the sound of machine gun fire at 4.30 am on August 25, coming from the Burmese Border Guard Police (BGP) post on a hill east of Kha Maung Seik. The BGP were firing down into the eastern section of the village. The firing continued for about one hour.

The BGP post at Kha Maung Seik is one of 10 BGP sub-posts under the Region 1, No. 2 BGP camp at nearby Hlaing Thi.

Abdul, who had spent the night at his father-in-law’s in the western section of the village, waited for a lull in the firing to go and search for his wife and children at home. Finding the house empty, he fled into the mountains, and was overjoyed to find his wife and children sheltering alive and well with other villagers.

There he learned that the machine gunfire had killed several villagers in their homes, including six Rohingya and three Hindus. There were two Hindu houses in the eastern village section, close to the BGP post. Three of the Rohingya killed were children: Syedul Amin, aged 12, Faruk, aged 10, and Zaiul Haque, aged 14.

The villagers hiding in the mountains again heard the sound of shooting at 1 pm, and so decided to flee to the Bangladesh border. Abdul estimated there were about 8,000 villagers trekking with him for two days to the border, including from Kha Maung Seik, Thit Tone Na Kwa Sone, Aung Tha Bye and Tamantha.

Abdul said his Hindu neighbours from Kha Maung Seik also fled together with his group to the border. Shown photos of the eight Hindu women who had testified to the ARSA massacre, he recognized them as Kha Maung Seik residents who had fled with him to Bangladesh.

He said that after crossing the border, the Hindu refugees had gone to stay in a separate Hindu camp near Kutupalong.

The testimony of refugees from Kha Maung Seik corroborates evidence in the October 2017 investigative report by Kaladan Press “Pre-planned Expulsion”, that Burma Army forces attacked numerous villages one-sidedly early in the morning of August 25, according to a pre-planned agenda.

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2018/05/24/rohingya-villagers-testimony-sheds-new-light-on-amnesty-internationals-latest-report/feed/0kaladanpressWomen protest Rohingya genocide and rape outside Unilever HQ, call for disinvestment from Burmahttps://kaladanpress.com/2018/03/09/women-protest-rohingya-genocide-and-rape-outside-unilever-hq-call-for-disinvestment-from-burma/
https://kaladanpress.com/2018/03/09/women-protest-rohingya-genocide-and-rape-outside-unilever-hq-call-for-disinvestment-from-burma/#respondFri, 09 Mar 2018 16:22:33 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3580About 30 women from various organizations gathered in front of the Unilever Head Office in London calling on the company to disinvest from Burma because of genocide and rape of the Rohingya on March 8, 2018 – International Women’s Day.

Women hold banner in front of Unilever HQ in London

The Global Women’s Strike, which organized the protest, said they were targeting Unilever because it claimed “to embody principles that respect the dignity and rights of women and girls, especially in the marketing of Dove products.”

“This is at odds with their $667 million investment in Myanmar where the military are committing systematic rape and other torture with total impunity as part of their genocide against the Rohingya people,” stated the campaign leaflet.

Protestors held up banners saying: “No Peace? No Dove!” and called on passers-by to stop using Dove products, and to sign a petition to Unilever to withdraw from Myanmar.
A letter to the Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, was accepted by a company representative at the building entrance.

Women protest in front of Unilever HQ in London

A joint statement by “Black Women’s Rape Action Project” and “Women Against Rape,” distributed at the protest, called for the Myanmar military to be held to account for systematic rape and other violence against women and children, and for Rohingya refugees not to be forced back to Myanmar.

A report, Rape by Command, compiled and published by the Kaladan Press Network documents horrific crimes committed against women and girls in 2017 across Rakhine State; in their homes and communities, or while fleeing the murderous army during its purge, according to statement.

The chief researcher of the report, Razia Sultana, personally interviewed 36 survivors about what they had suffered and witnessed happening to many others. She concluded that “Women and girls were raped, mutilated and killed for their very identity as Rohingya. Rape is being used as a weapon of genocide.”

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2018/03/09/women-protest-rohingya-genocide-and-rape-outside-unilever-hq-call-for-disinvestment-from-burma/feed/0kaladanpressPress release: Justice and protection for Rohingya women and girls – in support of call for Unilever to disinvest from Myanmarhttps://kaladanpress.com/2018/03/09/press-release-justice-and-protection-for-rohingya-women-and-girls-in-support-of-call-for-unilever-to-disinvest-from-myanmar/
https://kaladanpress.com/2018/03/09/press-release-justice-and-protection-for-rohingya-women-and-girls-in-support-of-call-for-unilever-to-disinvest-from-myanmar/#respondFri, 09 Mar 2018 15:54:30 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3577International Women’s Day, 8 March 2018, London

Justice and protection for Rohingya women and girls – in support of call for Unilever to disinvest from Myanmar

Statement by Black Women’s Rape Action Project & Women Against Rape

We strongly condemn the ethnic cleansing, widespread torture, killings and systematic rape and sexual torture of women and girls by the Myanmar Army, as part of its genocide against the Rohingya people.A report, Rape by Command, compiled and published by the Kaladan Press Network documents horrific crimes committed against women and girls in 2017 across Rakhine State; in their homes and communities, or while fleeing the murderous army during its purge.

The chief researcher of the report, Razia Sultana, personally interviewed 36 survivors about what they had suffered and witnessed happening to many others. She concluded that “Women and girls were raped, mutilated and killed for their very identity as Rohingya. Rape is being used as a weapon of genocide.”

We are anti-rape organizations with over 60 years of combined experience of working with survivors of rape, including historic child and domestic abuse in the UK. Some of us have fled to the UK after suffering rape and torture by military or others in authority in other countries. We know first-hand the trauma of rape, of witnessing loved ones killed, and of the barriers to justice and recovery faced by victims of sexual crimes, in addition to losing your home and/or becoming a refugee. Women everywhere face disbelief, discrimination and harsh treatment but the movement internationally is enabling survivors to speak out and demand safety and our attackers brought to justice. Right now we are supporting women in Yarl’s Wood detention centre who are on hunger strike exposing their brutal and inhumane treatment.

We echo the main demands in the report:

• Hold the military to account for this systematic rape and other violence against civilian women and children. It is clear from the reports from the region that these crimes are not random but the result of soldiers acting under orders. No impunity for the Myanmar military!
• A place of safety for all the refugees to settle in, they should not be forced back to Myanmar.

We further support the call from Sisters of Rohingya that Unilever divest from Myanmar, to withdraw funds to the military and encourage other corporations to put people’s right to life before profits.

We call on international movements from Hollywood to #Me Too and Time’s Up to put this issue into the spotlight and say: stop corporate funding for; rape and genocide!
#No Peace #No Dove

New report details Myanmar Army’s use of rape as a weapon against the Rohingya

A new report released today by Kaladan Press Network documents the Myanmar Army’s widespread, systematic use of sexual violence during its “clearance operation” against the Rohingya in 2017.“Rape by Command”, based on testimonies of 36 refugees, including eight rape survivors, provides evidence that government troops raped well over 300 women and girls in villages across northern Rakhine State. Maps in the report situate the sexual violence, including in downtown Maungdaw.

Most rapes took place during attacks starting on August 25, when hundreds of troops entered villages shooting indiscriminately, torturing and killing civilians, and burning houses. Women and girls were caught and raped in their houses, as they were running away, or after being rounded up in large groups in the villages. Scores were raped as they tried to flee across the Mayu mountain ranges towards the Bangladesh border.

Rape was committed flagrantly by groups of soldiers, often in front of other troops and civilians, showing clear confidence of impunity. Women were also forcibly detained in military camps for rape.

Rape incidents involved other brutal forms of torture, including biting, beating, cutting with knives, and burning alive. In twelve locations, rape victims – including young girls – were killed or died from their injuries, some after horrific mutilation.

“Women and girls were raped, mutilated and killed for their very identity as Rohingya,” said Ms Razia Sultana, chief researcher of the report. “Rape is being used as a weapon of genocide.”

The report urges the Myanmar government to stop blindly defending its army, and start holding the military’s entire command structure to account for the systematic use of rape and other atrocities against civilians.

“Indescribable horrors have been inflicted on Rohingya women and girls,” said Razia. “It is time for those in command to be held responsible.”

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2018/02/21/press-release-new-report-details-myanmar-armys-use-of-rape-as-a-weapon-against-the-rohingya-rape-by-command/feed/0kaladanpressAfter Aung San Su Kyi visits Maungdaw, one village burn downhttps://kaladanpress.com/2017/11/02/after-aung-san-su-kyi-visits-maungdaw-one-village-burn-down/
https://kaladanpress.com/2017/11/02/after-aung-san-su-kyi-visits-maungdaw-one-village-burn-down/#respondThu, 02 Nov 2017 17:39:29 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3556One Rohingya village – Thu Oo Lah (Kolla Bill) was burned down today ( November 2, 2017) at 9:00pm after visiting of the state counsellor and Union Enterprises for Humanitarian System, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD) Chairman– Aung San Su Kyi –had visited Maungdaw, said Halim, a human rights watchdog from Maungdaw.Aung San Su Kyi –had visited Maungdaw today morning and met Rohingya community in Pandaw Pyin (Nolbanna) where she explain development and structure of village- discuss with villagers through translator, said a village elder from the village.

The authority called the villagers who are not able to speak Burmese to show the international community that the Rohingya are not able to speak, not called the educated person from the village to discuss the development of village with together village structure, the elder more added.

Aung San Su Kyi came to Maungdaw today and discuss with people about development, resettlement and humanitarian system, but, the authority are forcing Rohingya community to receive NVC – National Verification Certificate- or leave the country; not allowing to harvest their paddy; restriction of movement imposed which faced starvation; no assessment humanitarian aid; no security and burning the remaining village, Halim said.

On other hand, a group of high level army officers came to Border Guard Police Headquarters where the officers called the remaining villagers from Labow Zarr, Mingalah Gyi,Poungzarr,Kanyin Chaung, and etc. to the BGP Headquarters where the Rohingya villagers were threaten not to say the army were burning the villages, Halim more added.

The authority are pressured Rohingya community to leave their home land with harassment of their daily life struggle situation, so the Rohingya are compile to leave their home land, said Haroon a student from Maungdaw.

More than10,000 Rohingya community stranded at Anjumen Para in Bangladesh today for fear of attack by security forces with non Rohingya community and starvation, Ahmed Husson, a fleeing Rohingya from Anjumen Para.

]]>https://kaladanpress.com/2017/11/02/after-aung-san-su-kyi-visits-maungdaw-one-village-burn-down/feed/0kaladanpressRefugee testimonies contradict Burmese government version of the August 25 “terrorist attacks”https://kaladanpress.com/2017/10/31/refugee-testimonies-contradict-burmese-government-version-of-the-august-25-terrorist-attacks/
https://kaladanpress.com/2017/10/31/refugee-testimonies-contradict-burmese-government-version-of-the-august-25-terrorist-attacks/#respondTue, 31 Oct 2017 17:27:35 +0000http://kaladanpress.wordpress.com/?p=3553An investigative analysis by Kaladan Press Network
Since the start of the ongoing large-scale “clearance” operation against the Rohingya population by Burmese security forces, the Burmese government’s Information Committee and state media have consistently reported that the operation is a response to over 30 coordinated “extremist terrorist” attacks against police stations and outposts in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017.The government version of these attacks, allegedly timed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) to undermine the August 24 release of the final Kofi Annan Commission report, has been accepted unquestioningly by Burmese and international media. Foreign embassies have condemned the attacks and expressed sympathy with the Burmese government for losses sustained. Analysts have also been quick to conclude that the scale of the ARSA attacks, across the length of Maungdaw Township, as well as in Rathedaung and Buthidaung, is evidence of support from international Islamic terrorist groups.

The Coastguards from Bangladesh saw the Rohingya youths who were swimming in the middle of Naf River at around 9:30 am and the coastguards rescued them from Naf River, Hussain Ahmed said.

They started their journey from Nakkhondia’s shore, Alay Than Kyaw BGP reginal area number 7 at around 7:00am and were swimming for three hours to cross the Naf river where the Bangladesh coastguard rescued, according to Rohingya youths.

BGB escorted Rohingya youths swimmer to health center

“We cross the Naff river with plastic gallons as no boats had seen sailing to Nakkhondia from Bangladesh side and our parents and children are suffering from starvation and diarrhea in Nakkhondia’s shore.”

“We need boats for those people and save their lives where hundreds of people are waiting in Nakkhondia’s shore to cross Naf River and to come Bangladesh,” the youths added,

According to Bangladesh coastguard official, the Rohingya youths were handed over to Border guard of Bangladesh (BGB) for treatment as they had seen so tried.